NOTE: This is a little bit of a personal post, but hopefully it gives some comfort to others out there!

Personally, I am a huge perfectionist, always have been and always will be. Sometimes this comes with the burden of feeling really down when things are not perfect or I make mistakes, however this is life, and these things happen. Over time though, I have managed to turn these low moments & mistakes into positives. I am a huge believer that everything happens for a reason and only you can reflect & move forward, no one else can do it for you. 

As a part-time small business owner, I am literally hands on with every aspect of An Organised Life. From packing orders & invoicing to designing new products & organising photo-shoots. I work hard to maintain every part of the brand and I'm always looking forward to how I can improve, push myself/brand & grow step by step. I definitely celebrate the small things and appreciate the 'pinch me' moments, however recently I have had a few really low days when I have either had bad news come my way or made small mistakes that left me feeling defeated & deflated!

I am realistic that to grow a solid brand you need to be patient but sometimes you just want to have a big cry when you work so hard! Allowing myself 2 hours to feel down & out over a wine & some chocolate, I knew that the only way was to move forward and I followed the below method:

• REFLECT: I sat down & reflected on what had happened & took responsibility for my mistakes. I even talked to x2 close girlfriends to ask their advice. 
• IDENTIFY: I identified what went wrong & why.
• LEARN & CREATE CHANGE: I worked out what I needed to change to never let that happen again - e.g gaining more knowledge in a certain area, acquiring resources to assist, removing or developing an aspect of the business etc. 
• TAKE ACTION: I made a list of priorities that needed to be actioned straight away to make up for the mistake or bad news.
• I MOVED FORWARD

Although it's confronting to face some of the above questions - everything happens for a reason, and learning from your mistakes will only make you stronger & a better person or a better brand (or both!). If you have patience, work hard & trust your gut, everything will happen when the time is right. 

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